Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay in an official post - it's been a crazy morning for the whole team!

The big day is finally here - Dead State has officially exited Early Access and the final game has released to the world! Let's give a great big thanks to all the Early Access beta testers who helped us exterminate bugs and refine our systems - the game has been vastly improved from its alpha days thanks to their tireless efforts. Also, Dead State wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the gracious and wonderful Kickstarter backers who supported us in 2012 - thank you so much!

Now, I don't want to keep you long since you're probably eager to dive in, so a few notes for those of you who're playing Dead State for the first time:

Don't forget to take a look at our manual - Dead State is a complex game with a lot of depth, so this is a very helpful resource for anyone hoping to master combat and exploration!

If you have any questions about Dead State, the launch, or anything else, the absolute fastest way to get them addressed is to post them on Dead State's forums; devs, mods, and veteran Early Access players are available to help you out, especially those of you playing the game for the first time!

We've said it many times but it's worth repeating - DoubleBear Productions plans to continue supporting Dead State post-release with patches and content updates, so please make sure to use our forums to report bugs and provide feedback. Do make sure to review our Known Issues list before posting, though, to make sure your issue isn't already being tracked!

Thanks everyone, and have fun playing Dead State!

P.S. Early Access players, never fear - a changelog is incoming in a separate announcement :)

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay in an official post - it's been a crazy morning for the whole team!

The big day is finally here - Dead State has officially exited Early Access and the final game has released to the world! Let's give a great big thanks to all the Early Access beta testers who helped us exterminate bugs and refine our systems - the game has been vastly improved from its alpha days thanks to their tireless efforts. Also, Dead State wouldn't even be here if it weren't for the gracious and wonderful Kickstarter backers who supported us in 2012 - thank you so much!

Now, I don't want to keep you long since you're probably eager to dive in, so a few notes for those of you who're playing Dead State for the first time:

Don't forget to take a look at our manual - Dead State is a complex game with a lot of depth, so this is a very helpful resource for anyone hoping to master combat and exploration!

If you have any questions about Dead State, the launch, or anything else, the absolute fastest way to get them addressed is to post them on Dead State's forums; devs, mods, and veteran Early Access players are available to help you out, especially those of you playing the game for the first time!

We've said it many times but it's worth repeating - DoubleBear Productions plans to continue supporting Dead State post-release with patches and content updates, so please make sure to use our forums to report bugs and provide feedback. Do make sure to review our Known Issues list before posting, though, to make sure your issue isn't already being tracked!

Thanks everyone, and have fun playing Dead State!

P.S. Early Access players, never fear - a changelog is incoming in a separate announcement :)

Surprise! We know we said #5 was the absolute last patch before release, but we wanted to push a few hotfixes out for those of you who plan to keep playing Early Access right up ‘til launch day. We tossed in some miscellaneous other fixes and updates while we were at it. Enjoy!

• Fixed inter-floor combat issues on levels like the Ballinger Hospital and the Lucky Rabbit Motel.
  
• Fixed collision on Ballinger Hospital.
  
• Fixed a soft lock that occurred during movement to noise.
  
• Fixed a crash caused by moving the medical satchel to another container.
  
• Added the City levels. So… that’s kind of a big deal ;)
  
• Fixed lots of dialogue, event, script, and level bugs.
  
• Improved some weapon & armor textures.
  
• Completed additional loot and art polish passes.
  
• Made it possible to recruit an ally who was bugged before.
  
• Fixed bow trading bug.
  
• Tweaked item, weapon, and armor balance.
  
• Made death loss conversations happen upon shelter return rather than next morning.
  
• Added death loss conversations and death scenes.
  
• Added missing player spawns to some levels.
  
• Added new loot detection icon.
  
• Updated ally portraits.
  
• Added a couple missing job board icons.
  
• Added proper player car model.
  
• Fixed item duplication through group trade interface.
  
• Fixed an issue with certain head armor hiding the whole body.
  
• Fixed cases of empty special weapons on enemies and in containers.
  
• Fixed inability to trade lore items among allies.
  
• Fixed cases of non-player allies being unable to trigger certain events and dialogues.
  
• Fixed an issue with certain goals triggering repeatedly.
  
• And as usual, more stuff that didn't get listed individually :)

For those of you celebrating tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving from the DoubleBear Team!

Surprise! We know we said #5 was the absolute last patch before release, but we wanted to push a few hotfixes out for those of you who plan to keep playing Early Access right up ‘til launch day. We tossed in some miscellaneous other fixes and updates while we were at it. Enjoy!

• Fixed inter-floor combat issues on levels like the Ballinger Hospital and the Lucky Rabbit Motel.
  
• Fixed collision on Ballinger Hospital.
  
• Fixed a soft lock that occurred during movement to noise.
  
• Fixed a crash caused by moving the medical satchel to another container.
  
• Added the City levels. So… that’s kind of a big deal ;)
  
• Fixed lots of dialogue, event, script, and level bugs.
  
• Improved some weapon & armor textures.
  
• Completed additional loot and art polish passes.
  
• Made it possible to recruit an ally who was bugged before.
  
• Fixed bow trading bug.
  
• Tweaked item, weapon, and armor balance.
  
• Made death loss conversations happen upon shelter return rather than next morning.
  
• Added death loss conversations and death scenes.
  
• Added missing player spawns to some levels.
  
• Added new loot detection icon.
  
• Updated ally portraits.
  
• Added a couple missing job board icons.
  
• Added proper player car model.
  
• Fixed item duplication through group trade interface.
  
• Fixed an issue with certain head armor hiding the whole body.
  
• Fixed cases of empty special weapons on enemies and in containers.
  
• Fixed inability to trade lore items among allies.
  
• Fixed cases of non-player allies being unable to trigger certain events and dialogues.
  
• Fixed an issue with certain goals triggering repeatedly.
  
• And as usual, more stuff that didn't get listed individually :)

For those of you celebrating tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving from the DoubleBear Team!

This is it - the final patch before launch! Patch #5 is bursting at the seams with features and fixes, including many requested or suggested by YOU, the Dead State community.

Now, while we’re giving you lots to chew on today, we want to remind you that this isn’t the final game - endings are being reserved for the final release, and there will still be many improvements coming before the final launch. In other words, there's still plenty to look forward to!

With our upcoming release in mind, we’ll be updating the Known Issues post later today, so make sure to check there first before reporting bugs; that will help keep the forums and boards laser-focused on tracking brand new issues.

Without further adieu, allow us to give you a peek under the hood at the new changes you can expect in today’s patch.

• Added a nifty Statistics pop-up on the Goals screen.
  
• Added a To Do List feature that allows you to track tasks more easily. This feature is still being adjusted.
  
• Performed a major morale balance pass based on community feedback.
  
• Added a first-pass loot highlighting system which will display an icon over loot within your field of view by toggling the system with the ‘Z’ key. This system will be polished further to improve its appearance in the future.
  
• Fixed a host of dialogue and crisis event issues, such as repeating dialogues, missing or broken dialogue options, unexpected behavior of dialogues or events, and many, many more - so many I’m definitely not listing them all out one by one ;)
  
• Fixed a host of level issues, such as broken loot containers, blocking issues, incorrect enemy names or parties, and as above, there are just too many to list individually!
  
• Completed remaining loot and combat passes on all levels.
  
• Added more level-specific party barks.
  
• Completed majority of remaining art polish passes.
  
• Added new undead models for medical staff (doctors and nurses).
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we changed Wild Dog to be controlled by the player and not take actions of its own in real-time.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we made the initial fence repair task less confusing by requiring the wire fence to be repaired before the wooden fence can be built.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we made ‘trade’ jobs continue until cancelled without requiring manual reassignment every day.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, unvisited locations are now highlighted on the area map.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, building roofs will now remain hidden while any ally is inside or any visible enemy is taking it’s turn.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we found and fixed an issue with the player Impenetrable perk and ally Fortify trait which was breaking upgrades.
  
• Changed the ally Fortify trait to “Resourceful”, which collects additional parts every day.
  
• Set up many missing ally-given locations to be revealed on the map.
  
• Adjusted fuel consumption by vehicle based on community feedback.
  
• Fixed corrupt data items issue.
  
• Added two new positive status effects given by training in the Gym or Shooting Range: “Aimed” and “Pumped”.
  
• Made ‘attack’ the last option on smart cursor cycle for allies.
  
• Added Strength requirement information to melee weapons.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing Shield Bash attacks from working.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing dog’s Ferocity and Takedown attacks from working.
  
• Fixed a bug which revealed all fishing areas on the map once one was found.
  
• Added several neutral encounters with NPCs who will now not attack unless provoked.
  
• Added icons for several special items.
  
• Fixed a bug which prevented weapon accuracy penalties for certain special attacks from working.
  
• Added ability for dogs to work Guard Duty jobs per community request.
  
• Removed dogs from crisis event calculations.
  
• Moved dog’s “Bark” attack to the second slot on their attacks to streamline using dogs in combat.
  
• Added stairs to maps which were missing them.
  
• Fixed an issue with some levels not showing the time of day correctly.
  
• Added two more “Miniboss” encounters to find.
  
• Fixed Wood and Stone Reinforced Fence models to not hide characters during fence gate dialogues.
  
• Fixed Michiru to be unavailable until she’s been taught more English.
  
• Added English Teacher, Custodian, and Security Guard jobs.
  
• Implemented game over if fence is broken for any 3 consecutive days.
  
• Implemented Mobile Radio upgrade that allows you to reassign any ally’s task from anywhere you can access the Shelter screen.
  
• Fixed issue with fishing pole being removed from inventory upon return to Shelter.

… And the list goes on :)

If you’ve been actively beta-testing and providing feedback, now is the time to test more furiously than ever before and let us know about particularly game-breaking or progress-blocking issues. More feedback on balance - in combat, loot, morale, or elsewhere - is also still enormously helpful. All of you have been essential in helping us get the game where it is today, and we hope you’ll keep helping us right up to - and beyond - launch day. Just two weeks more to go, everyone!

This is it - the final patch before launch! Patch #5 is bursting at the seams with features and fixes, including many requested or suggested by YOU, the Dead State community.

Now, while we’re giving you lots to chew on today, we want to remind you that this isn’t the final game - endings are being reserved for the final release, and there will still be many improvements coming before the final launch. In other words, there's still plenty to look forward to!

With our upcoming release in mind, we’ll be updating the Known Issues post later today, so make sure to check there first before reporting bugs; that will help keep the forums and boards laser-focused on tracking brand new issues.

Without further adieu, allow us to give you a peek under the hood at the new changes you can expect in today’s patch.

• Added a nifty Statistics pop-up on the Goals screen.
  
• Added a To Do List feature that allows you to track tasks more easily. This feature is still being adjusted.
  
• Performed a major morale balance pass based on community feedback.
  
• Added a first-pass loot highlighting system which will display an icon over loot within your field of view by toggling the system with the ‘Z’ key. This system will be polished further to improve its appearance in the future.
  
• Fixed a host of dialogue and crisis event issues, such as repeating dialogues, missing or broken dialogue options, unexpected behavior of dialogues or events, and many, many more - so many I’m definitely not listing them all out one by one ;)
  
• Fixed a host of level issues, such as broken loot containers, blocking issues, incorrect enemy names or parties, and as above, there are just too many to list individually!
  
• Completed remaining loot and combat passes on all levels.
  
• Added more level-specific party barks.
  
• Completed majority of remaining art polish passes.
  
• Added new undead models for medical staff (doctors and nurses).
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we changed Wild Dog to be controlled by the player and not take actions of its own in real-time.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we made the initial fence repair task less confusing by requiring the wire fence to be repaired before the wooden fence can be built.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we made ‘trade’ jobs continue until cancelled without requiring manual reassignment every day.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, unvisited locations are now highlighted on the area map.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, building roofs will now remain hidden while any ally is inside or any visible enemy is taking it’s turn.
  
• Thanks to community feedback, we found and fixed an issue with the player Impenetrable perk and ally Fortify trait which was breaking upgrades.
  
• Changed the ally Fortify trait to “Resourceful”, which collects additional parts every day.
  
• Set up many missing ally-given locations to be revealed on the map.
  
• Adjusted fuel consumption by vehicle based on community feedback.
  
• Fixed corrupt data items issue.
  
• Added two new positive status effects given by training in the Gym or Shooting Range: “Aimed” and “Pumped”.
  
• Made ‘attack’ the last option on smart cursor cycle for allies.
  
• Added Strength requirement information to melee weapons.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing Shield Bash attacks from working.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing dog’s Ferocity and Takedown attacks from working.
  
• Fixed a bug which revealed all fishing areas on the map once one was found.
  
• Added several neutral encounters with NPCs who will now not attack unless provoked.
  
• Added icons for several special items.
  
• Fixed a bug which prevented weapon accuracy penalties for certain special attacks from working.
  
• Added ability for dogs to work Guard Duty jobs per community request.
  
• Removed dogs from crisis event calculations.
  
• Moved dog’s “Bark” attack to the second slot on their attacks to streamline using dogs in combat.
  
• Added stairs to maps which were missing them.
  
• Fixed an issue with some levels not showing the time of day correctly.
  
• Added two more “Miniboss” encounters to find.
  
• Fixed Wood and Stone Reinforced Fence models to not hide characters during fence gate dialogues.
  
• Fixed Michiru to be unavailable until she’s been taught more English.
  
• Added English Teacher, Custodian, and Security Guard jobs.
  
• Implemented game over if fence is broken for any 3 consecutive days.
  
• Implemented Mobile Radio upgrade that allows you to reassign any ally’s task from anywhere you can access the Shelter screen.
  
• Fixed issue with fishing pole being removed from inventory upon return to Shelter.

… And the list goes on :)

If you’ve been actively beta-testing and providing feedback, now is the time to test more furiously than ever before and let us know about particularly game-breaking or progress-blocking issues. More feedback on balance - in combat, loot, morale, or elsewhere - is also still enormously helpful. All of you have been essential in helping us get the game where it is today, and we hope you’ll keep helping us right up to - and beyond - launch day. Just two weeks more to go, everyone!

Hi everyone,

Patch #4 is now live as promised! In case you missed our last announcement, I’ll go ahead and repeat it: we have a final release date for Dead State, and it’s 12/4/14. We hope you’re as excited for the launch as we are :)

For our spooOOooky Halloween patch, we have a lovely mix of tricks and treats, including: an exciting new intro showing the player’s unpleasant welcome to Texas; night combat penalties and fatigue status; a recycling upgrade; adjusted healing mechanics; and lots more. Check out the changelog below for the full list, then get in there and start bashing in undead heads.


Added a new intro sequence
What exactly happened to you before you woke up in the Shelter? Time to find out!

Changed night-time behavior:
You no longer lose the game for staying out past midnight. Instead, nighttime combat penalties are applied after 8 p.m.; staying out past midnight causes the fatigue status; and staying out past 3 a.m. now incurs a -50 morale hit, 50% health loss to all members of the party, and kicks you back to the Shelter. If you’re using horses, they become exhausted and unusable for a couple of days, and if you’re using the car, it breaks and you need to repair it again. (In other words, get your butt back to the Shelter before 3 a.m.!)

Added a Recycler Upgrade:
By popular request, you can now build the Recycler Upgrade to break weapons and armor down into parts. This will most likely need balancing work, so make sure to share your feedback with us on the boards and forums.

Adjusted Healing:
Based on feedback from the community, the Infirmary is no longer the only way to recover lost maximum HP. Lost max HP now slowly heals naturally with rest in the Shelter at the rate of 1 per hour. Treatment in the Infirmary still offers a much quicker way to get back on your feet, but it is no longer the only way.

Performed major combat balance pass:
Including armor, weapons, shields, enemies, and enemy chance to crit.

Updated level visuals:
We improved visuals in over 70 levels.

Updated level loot, combat, and events:
A number of levels received combat and loot passes, and we even added some more random events.

Implemented and fixed perk effects:
New perk effects for Animal Magnetism, Pharmacist, and Gardener were added, and some existing bugged perks were fixed.


Updated and added icons, portraits, and models

Added new rare melee weapons and minibosses on multiple maps

Added more Lore items to various enemies:
Note: there’s a known bug with the Lore system right now that will be resolved in the next patch.

Added ability to obtain cats for the Shelter

Added new Crisis Events[/b]

Added ally deaths from antibiotic shortages:
Known issue: camera data isn’t in yet, so consider these WIP for now.

Added mood bonuses and penalties

Changed fence job behavior and text:
We changed the title and description text on the stone-reinforced fence job to more correctly reflect the nature of the upgrade.

Fixed, added, and updated dialogues

Added Credits button to options menu

Added wounded status icon

Added better handling of location detection on area map[/b]

Added additional infirmary polish:
Characters teleport to the infirmary when they’re injured and even lie down in the beds.

Adjusted prone AP penalty

Added requirement of rotten fruit to antibiotics manufacturing

Added buff status effects “Aimed” and “Pumped”

Added new faction combat barks

Added new ‘select all’ buttons in the shelter

Adjusted travel speed of horses

There are lots of other smaller tweaks, additions, and improvements that you’ll stumble across as you go, but that should cover most of it :) Watch out for our next patch, which should be equally impressive and satisfy even more popular community requests.

From all of us here at DoubleBear, Happy Halloween!

Hi everyone,

Patch #4 is now live as promised! In case you missed our last announcement, I’ll go ahead and repeat it: we have a final release date for Dead State, and it’s 12/4/14. We hope you’re as excited for the launch as we are :)

For our spooOOooky Halloween patch, we have a lovely mix of tricks and treats, including: an exciting new intro showing the player’s unpleasant welcome to Texas; night combat penalties and fatigue status; a recycling upgrade; adjusted healing mechanics; and lots more. Check out the changelog below for the full list, then get in there and start bashing in undead heads.


Added a new intro sequence
What exactly happened to you before you woke up in the Shelter? Time to find out!

Changed night-time behavior:
You no longer lose the game for staying out past midnight. Instead, nighttime combat penalties are applied after 8 p.m.; staying out past midnight causes the fatigue status; and staying out past 3 a.m. now incurs a -50 morale hit, 50% health loss to all members of the party, and kicks you back to the Shelter. If you’re using horses, they become exhausted and unusable for a couple of days, and if you’re using the car, it breaks and you need to repair it again. (In other words, get your butt back to the Shelter before 3 a.m.!)

Added a Recycler Upgrade:
By popular request, you can now build the Recycler Upgrade to break weapons and armor down into parts. This will most likely need balancing work, so make sure to share your feedback with us on the boards and forums.

Adjusted Healing:
Based on feedback from the community, the Infirmary is no longer the only way to recover lost maximum HP. Lost max HP now slowly heals naturally with rest in the Shelter at the rate of 1 per hour. Treatment in the Infirmary still offers a much quicker way to get back on your feet, but it is no longer the only way.

Performed major combat balance pass:
Including armor, weapons, shields, enemies, and enemy chance to crit.

Updated level visuals:
We improved visuals in over 70 levels.

Updated level loot, combat, and events:
A number of levels received combat and loot passes, and we even added some more random events.

Implemented and fixed perk effects:
New perk effects for Animal Magnetism, Pharmacist, and Gardener were added, and some existing bugged perks were fixed.


Updated and added icons, portraits, and models

Added new rare melee weapons and minibosses on multiple maps

Added more Lore items to various enemies:
Note: there’s a known bug with the Lore system right now that will be resolved in the next patch.

Added ability to obtain cats for the Shelter

Added new Crisis Events[/b]

Added ally deaths from antibiotic shortages:
Known issue: camera data isn’t in yet, so consider these WIP for now.

Added mood bonuses and penalties

Changed fence job behavior and text:
We changed the title and description text on the stone-reinforced fence job to more correctly reflect the nature of the upgrade.

Fixed, added, and updated dialogues

Added Credits button to options menu

Added wounded status icon

Added better handling of location detection on area map[/b]

Added additional infirmary polish:
Characters teleport to the infirmary when they’re injured and even lie down in the beds.

Adjusted prone AP penalty

Added requirement of rotten fruit to antibiotics manufacturing

Added buff status effects “Aimed” and “Pumped”

Added new faction combat barks

Added new ‘select all’ buttons in the shelter

Adjusted travel speed of horses

There are lots of other smaller tweaks, additions, and improvements that you’ll stumble across as you go, but that should cover most of it :) Watch out for our next patch, which should be equally impressive and satisfy even more popular community requests.

From all of us here at DoubleBear, Happy Halloween!

The DoubleBear team has some extra-special, ultra-awesome news for you to celebrate Halloween: Dead State has a release date!

That's right: on December 4th, 2014 - just over a month away - Dead State will emerge from the cocoon of Early Access and transform into a beautiful, fully matured game!

On top of that, later today we plan to release Patch #4 chock full of delicious, gooey content, features, and fixes, so keep an eye out for that. Pretty sweet Halloween treats, right?

Aside from Patch #4 going out later today/tonight, we plan to release one final patch before the launch; after that, we’re going to focus our full attention on fixing, balancing, and polishing Dead State until we run full speed across the finish line. All you have to do is keep playing, having fun, and sharing your feedback with us, and we’ll do the rest.

Please help us out by spreading the word about the launch date - take to Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and your other social networks / forums of choice and give them the good news. After all, it's only decent to warn your friends about the coming apocalypse :)

Happy Halloween, everyone - may your undead slaying be merry!

P.S. Another bonus for you: check out this new preview of the Dead State OST. Five full songs to accompany your Halloween bash!